sherry

noun

sher·​ry ˈsher-ē How to pronounce sherry (audio)
plural sherries
: a Spanish fortified wine with a distinctive nutty flavor
also : a similar wine produced elsewhere

Examples of sherry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Most Oban whisky is aged in a combination of bourbon barrels and sherry casks, but is nothing like the new 15-year-old Cask Strength Sherry Cask Finish. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 22 June 2025 At their beloved New York restaurant Via Carota, Italian chefs Jody Williams and Rita Sodi serve a best-selling, not-too-soggy Tuscan-style panzanella salad using aged sherry vinegar, which might be the key to its perfection. Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 19 June 2025 Add sherry, and cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is almost completely reduced, about 1 minute. Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 15 June 2025 Cook, stirring, until pork is crisp and mixture is very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add wine or sherry, soy sauce and chili crisp, and return asparagus to skillet. Gretchen McKay, Twin Cities, 23 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sherry

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier sherris (taken as plural), from Xeres (now Jerez), Spain

First Known Use

1584, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sherry was in 1584

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sherry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sherry. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

sherry

noun
sher·​ry ˈsher-ē How to pronounce sherry (audio)
plural sherries
: a wine with a nutty flavor
Etymology

named for Xeres (now spelled Jerez), a city in Spain where the wine was originally made

Word Origin
It is common to name wines after the part of a country where they are made. The wine called sherry today was first made in a town originally called, in Spanish, Xeres. The English approximation of the Spanish pronunciation was \ˈsher-ēz\, spelled sherris. After a time, people thought that sherris was a plural and so made a singular form, sherry, by cutting off the supposed plural ending. The \sh\ sound symbolized by x in Spanish (later by j) changed to a \ḵ\ or \h\, so that the modern Spanish pronunciation of Jerez is even less like English sherry.

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